decision day. president obama and mitt romney make final arguments before millions of americans head to the polls. >> on november 6th, we come together for a better future, and november 7th, we get to work. >> are you fired up? >> the first votes are in. while millions have cast early ballots, the first polls open especially overnight. while the effects of superstorm sandy affect the vote in many areas, millions remain in the dark and cold without power as a new storm bears down on the

northeast. this is the cbs morning news for tuesday, november 6th, 2012. good morning, everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrelle brown. the first ballots of election day 2012 have been cast. at least 120 million americans are expected to vote today in an election driven by record spending and even now, the outcome is up in the air. looking at the last gallup daily tracking poll of likely voters, president obama and mitt romney are separated by just one percentage point, a virtual tie. we have two reports this morning. randall pinkston is covering the romney campaign in boston. we begin with bigad shaban. >> reporter: president obama is spending election day in chicago. he cast his ballot there during early voting almost two weeks ago. the president wrapped up his campaign in des moines last night, just steps away from his iowa headquarters during his first presidential bid in 2008.

>> are you fired up? >> reporter: president obama made one final plea for votes in the critical battleground state. >> after all the months of campaigning, after all the rallies, after the millions of dollars of ads, it all comes down to you. it's out of my hands now. >> reporter: president obama plans to continue his election day tradition of playing basketball with friends. >> reporter: i'm randall pinkston in boston. underscoring how close this election is expected to be, the first town in the nation to vote ended in a tie. >> this has never happened before. we have a tie. >> reporter: they gave five votes each for the president and mitt romney. romney plans to cast his own ballot in massachusetts this morning. he will then immediately hit the campaign trail, rallying supporters in cleveland and pittsburgh to get them out to the polls. romney says momentum is on his

side. >> these last months of our campaign have seen the gathering of strength of a real movement across this country. it's evident in the size of these crowds like this tonight. my goodness. >> reporter: romney says he will deliver the change the president promised but failed to do. randall pinkston, cbs news, boston. nearly 30 million americans cast early ballots. early voting was available in 34 states. in ohio, more than one and a half million of the state's nearly eight million registered voters have already cast ballots, according to state officials. legal disputes have already erupted there and in florida. cbs news will have the latest election results. coverage begins tonight 7:00 p.m. eastern time right here on cbs. hurricane sandy is playing a role in today's election. residents in new york and new jersey waited in long lines yesterday to cast early ballots. so many people were displaced by the storm that voters in new york and new jersey can cast ballots at any polling place.

now more than a week after the storm hit, millions continue to deal with harsh conditions. no power, no heat, and plunging temperatures and gas lines that stretch for miles. another strong storm is headed to the northeast, possibly flooding coastal areas already devastated by sandy. here in new york, 40,000 people lost their homes. jim axelrod reports. >> reporter: they're breaking up furniture for firewood on staten island. >> it's very cold. and they need to keep warm somehow. i'm glad that the fire department is not coming to put the fire out. >> reporter: desperate moms are standing in line in queens, hoping the donated food doesn't run out. >> it's hard, you know? because you don't want your babies to go hungry. >> reporter: all over the city, the powerful are getting an earful. >> you've got to be kidding me! where were you yesterday? >> reporter: help is now pouring in to new york and new jersey. marines have landed in staten island. 280 state troopers from eight

states were sworn in to help in new jersey, including 50 from the mississippi highway patrol. more than a thousand utility crews from as far away as california and canada are being staged at citi field, home to the new york mets. >> we're in hand to hand combat. we are just going block to block putting up facilities that have been damaged by those winds and/or the floods. >> reporter: john is in charge of power restoration for new york's largest electric company. con ed has restored power to 800,000 customers but have 150,000 to go before a coastal storm sweeps in mid week. >> it may slow down the troops that are out there doing restoration. >> reporter: on new jersey's long beach island, homeowners, including this woman, were finally allowed to check the damage. >> the bottom fell out, so we were lucky that the house is still standing. we had seen pictures of the house, so we knew it had been

badly damaged, but still seeing it is painful. >> reporter: meanwhile, the gas lines could get longer. the nor'easter could knock out power to some of the pumps that's just been restored. jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> with that nor'easter on its way up the atlantic coast, some new jersey residents already hit hard by sandy have been told to evacuate again. the storm threatens to bring more flooding and wind damage to a region that's already had more than enough. meteorologist david bernard of wfor has details. >> still looks like a strong nor'easter is on the way for wednesday and into thursday. in fact, a look at the satellite picture will show us the storm developing over the lower mississippi river valley, and this is going to continue to take shape and strengthen over the next 24 hours. the details are still a little bit unclear on exactly what's going to happen, but in general, the worst of the weather wednesday and thursday. we can expect wind-driven rains

in the coastal areas with gusts to 65 miles per hour, particularly on the east end of long island and other coastal communities. there could be a heavy wet snow inland, and depending on where that falls, that could contribute to additional power outages and we're also very concerned about some significant coastal flooding in areas that suffered a lot of damage during hurricane sandy. again, more details will be available in the next 12 hours. i'm david bernard, cbs news, miami. coming up on the morning news,t is halftime in america. president obama and mitt romney make a final pitch to sports fans in a pair of last-minute interviews on "monday night football." but first, caught on tape. the frightening collapse of a centuries old building. this is the morning news.

as many as 17 families are

homeless after a historic building collapsed in peru yesterday. it was built in 1753 and was designated a national monument in 1988. no one was injured in the fire or the collapse. the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghans, including nine children back in march, will be in court in washington state today. the pretrial hearing of sergeant robert bails begins monday. the hearing could last two weeks. bails has not yet entered a plea. a massive wildfire in southern california shut down a major highway. the wind-driven flames burned 350 acres, about 60 miles east of los angeles, about 200 firefighters are battling the fire which broke out monday morning. several homes were evacuated and officials say traffic is flowing again on interstate 15. and a beaver dam broke in washington state, sending a torrent of water and mud through a small town, about 20 miles northeast of seattle.

one resident whose home was damaged by the flood, says the wall of water was about five feet high. no injuries were reported. when we come back on this tuesday morning, we'll have your weather forecast, and flight fight. we'll see why the nation's number one drama at the box office doesn't fly with budweiser. jack? jaaack? jaaack?! jack?! looks good ladies! jack! come on, stop the car. jack! no, no, no, no, no! the only thing more surprising than finding the perfect gifts.. niice. ...is where you find them. how did you know? i had a little help. this is how to gift. this is sears.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in new york, partly sunny skies. partly sunny in miami 82.

sunny in dallas, 72. sunny out in l.a., 88 degrees. let's check your national forecast. dreaded nor'easter is taking shape. rain and thunderstorms will roll through the southeast and florida today. a cold front that will feed the nor'easter is moving through the midwest, bringing more rain and showers. in the northeast, it's the calm before the storm. it will be sunny and dry. it will be warm and dry across most of the west. "cbs moneywatch" time on a tuesday. investors go into watch and wait mode. and greece braces for violent protests. >> overseas trading was light ahead of tokyo's results. the hang seng dropped a quarter percent. wall street is also waiting to see who wins a presidential election. investors are reluctant to make any big moves without knowing the winner. on monday, the nasdaq add 17 points. some analysts say no matter who

wins, the markets could see a surge. two days of general strikes begin today in greece. the country's unions are protesting a new austerity plan that imposes wage and benefit cuts. the strike will ground flights, halt trains, close schools, and staff hospitals with minimal workers. lawmakers are set to vote on the austerity package tomorrow. suzuki will no longer sell cars in the united states. the japanese auto maker filed for bankruptcy on monday. the debt and liabilities range from at least $100 million to up to $500 million. as part of its restructuring plan, suzuki will stop its car and suv sales in the u.s. but continue to sell motorcycles, atvs, and boat engines. general motors says it's boosting its cash reserves with $11 billion in credit lines. gm may be preparing to buy back shares held by the u.s. government. the treasury department holds a

more than 26% stake in the car company following the 2009 auto bailout. gm received a credit from 25 financial institutions in more than a dozen countries. and it's not often that companies don't want their product shown in a hit movie. but budweiser says it wants its beer taken out of the new film "flight" in. the movie, denzel washington's character plays an alcoholic pilot. an heismaner busch is asking paramount pictures to obscure or remove bud pictures from the film. another producer says it did not consent to have its product shown in the film. in the first weekend, "flight" grossed $25 million. what happened to there's no such thing as bad publicity. >> yeah, exactly. a little sensitive, too, right? it's just a movie. >> it's denzel washington. in sports this morning, "monday night football" and the

saints shoot down the eagles. here's the big play. michael vick gets picked off by patrick robinson. he flies down the sideline 99 yards to put the saints up 7-0. drew brees tosses two more td passes to extend his nfl streak to 51 games. the saints roll over the eagles 28-13. philadelphia now losers of four in a row. during halftime of the eagles-saints game, mitt romney and president obama talked football in an interview on espn. the president was asked if his chicago bears are good enough to win the super bowl. >> yes, they are. best defense in the league right now. you saw yesterday's game. tillman may be defensive player of the year the way he's playing. >> and romney talked about his favorite team. >> the new england patriots. i've lived in massachusetts now 40 years, and i take personal full responsible for their two super bowl wins. >> romney also said the issue of

performance-enhancing drugs is the biggest problem facing sports in general. and some good news for indianapolis colts head coach chuck pa gagano, his doctors sae is in remission. he made an emotional cancer speech. he hopes to be on the sidelines for the season finale on december 30th. when we come back, a sprint to the finish in virginia. campaign volunteers go door to door to seal the deal.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., partly sunny, 50 degrees. showers in atlanta, 54. mostly sunny in denver, 72. afternoon rain in seattle, 54 degrees. top stories now on this election day. a new storm is threatening to

hamper recovery efforts in areas hit by hurricane sandy. nearly a million and a half homes and businesses remain without power as cold temperatures arrive. the new storm is expected to hit tomorrow. the first ballots of election day were cast in new hampshire. president obama and mitt romney each got five votes. we're going to be here all night. the president will wait for today's results in chicago. mitt romney will wait in boston. in virginia, they're scrambling to get out the vote the old fashioned way, door to door. new poll shows the race there is a virtual dead heat. as wyatt andrews tells us, the campaign with the better ground game will probably take the state. >> reporter: if you live in virginia, the race for president has become a race to the front door. a ground game sprint by both campaigns to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors, to plead with their own supporters, to show up on election day. we watched romney volunteer

mackie christiansen in leesburg, virginia. >> reporter: is this closing the deal? >> we need the voters. it's so close. >> reporter: nearby in gainesville, virginia, obama volunteers linda and taylor were urging the president's supporters not to get distracted or forget to vote. if they're supporting the president anyway, what's the point? >> the point is to remind them that their vote counts, their vote could be the one that flips it for our side. their vote could be the one that helps make a difference. >> reporter: the in-person visit did make a difference to obama voter stephanie torres. >> i think it does give it a personal touch. i think it does solidify your own decision. >> reporter: every step taken by these volunteers is science. >> i just encourage your support for barack obama. >> reporter: the campaigns, after making millions of phone calls, already know ho has voted

early, so they know with house by house precision where their likely voters remain. >> do they have a plan to vote? >> reporter: that precision means the door knockers are given maps and shown the most efficient way to walk there. >> it tells us where to start, where to end. one of us takes one side of the street and the other takes the other. >> reporter: this leesburg neighborhood is still up for grabs. most of the voters like zack, a romney supporter, very visited three or four times. how many phone calls? how many door knocks? >> i get a ton, especially on my home office phone. i must get six or seven a day. >> reporter: but both campaigns now believe virginia will be decided by the better ground game, after the candidates spent $86 million here on ad time and hundreds of hours in campaign time, virginia -- >> how much our taxes are in loudoun county, for example. >> reporter: come downs to face time. wyatt andrews, cbs news,

leesburg, virginia. >> it is election day. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," special election day coverage and analysis. i'm terrell rown. this is the "cbs morning news." [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. it's made with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less. charmin ultra soft. went home and fed her family. now she's helping her community. no wonder it's hard to focus on her own needs. but she's got one a day women's, a complete multivitamin with key nutrients women may need all in one pill. because our focus is you. for a professional cleansing device? join the counter revolution and switch to olay pro-x. get cleansing results as effective as a $200 system. guaranteed or your money back. olay pro-x. that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too.

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he's coming. but, first, we want to say good morning to you. welcome to 9 news now. today you finally get to say what you think about the candidates because it's

election day, november 6th, 2012. i'm andrea rose. >> we approve this message. good morning, monica. now your weather first with howard bernstein. >> yeah, the only poll that matters this one. >> that's right. >> weather wise it's a cold, cold start. we're down to the 20s in many areas and 30s as well. so a chilly day, and it looks like that nor'easter is going to slide just far enough east that we should have minimal impacts from it. >> yay. >> that's not going to be the case along the coast and maybe some snow inland as well. so rain and snow for them. let's talk about our day planner on this tuesday, election day. a cold start, 25 in town with 20s in the intshes. overall a sunny and chilly day as highs struggle to get near the 50-degree mark. yesterday we barely made it to 54 the high. storm system down south. you can see this thing come through tennessee, alabama and georgia. this is going to come off the coast, and like that, that will

become our nor'easter where really the new jersey, long island nor'easter tomorrow into thursday. this morning we've got a freeze warning most areas until 9:00. not west. you've already had your freezing weather. your growing season has ended. it's ending for just about everybody today with temperatures in the mid-20s in martinsburg, 31 in leesburg, easton 29 and even la plata at 28. so this afternoon sunny but cool, highs upper 40s to around 50. go vote. monica, good morning. >>reporter: good morning. and if you're heading outside right now, you'll want to know that good hope road at martin luther king avenue you do have construction in place and it's closing down that intersection there. you have to follow police direction to get around it. other than that we're looking pretty good. inbound on i-66, no delays to report. all construction is cleared up coming in from the west. no problems centreville toward vienna and the beltway toll road to annandale to springfield, you'll be fine.

95 at the fairfax county parkway coming up newing talk to the beltway, everything looks good. let's go back over to the maps, this time to the north side of town, no issues on 270 or 95 coming in from baltimore right now, there is still some construction in place on the beltway north of town. let's take a live look here on our mdot camera. inner loop, you can see the cones set up at university boulevard, traffic getting by to the left side without any delays. i'll be back with more coming up at 4:39. back to you guys. after more than two years of campaigning, election day 2012 is finally here. >> whew. >> and the first election returns are in. >> this is fun. we used to cover this when i was in boston. the tiny town of dixville notch, new hampshire have been kounlted and as tara mergener tells us, this year the candidates made history. >>reporter: voters in dixville notch, new hampshire cast their ballots at midnight, and if their votes are any indication, tuesday could be a very long day. >> this has never happened

before in dixville. we have a tie. five votes each. >>reporter: president obama and mitt romney buzzed tru battleground states monday on a final push for votes on the eve of election day. the president stopped -- the president's stops included opening acts from bruce springsteen and jay-z. he told supporters romney's campaign is a greatest hits collection of failed policies. >> the choice between going back to the top-down policies that caused the mess we've been fighting our way of for four years or moving forward to a future that's built on strong and growing plans. >>reporter: the president wrapped up his last political campaign in iowa, the state where he won his first presidential campaign victory in 2008. president obama will monitor the returns from his hometown of chicago. mitt romney's campaign will await the results in boston. the republican nominee finished his campaign in new hampshire. he said president obama failed to deliver the change